Sri Lanka has been elected to chair the 7th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) held in Thailand.

The seventh APFSD was carried out as a ‘virtual forum’ at the United Nations Conference Center (UNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday (May 20) via the internet.

At the forum, Samantha K. Jayasuriya, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka to Thailand and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to ESCAP, was unanimously appointed to the Chairpersonship of the Forum.

Accordingly, Jayasuriya will hold the position for a period of a year from here on.

Addressing the Forum, Chair Samantha K. Jayasuriya underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships moving forward: “To achieve the 2030 Agenda and to deliver on the global Decade of Action, we need a strong, and well-coordinated response, both at country level, including with all institutions and all members of society, as well as from the multilateral cooperation framework.”

The 7th APFSD concluded with a resounding call for countries to revive international cooperation and multi-stakeholder partnerships in tackling the huge socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threaten to reverse hard-won development gains in the region.  

More than 730 delegates representing governments, civil society, businesses and international organizations at the Forum hosted virtually by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) also expressed concerns on the limited progress made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and underscored the need for transformative accelerated action by all stakeholders to meet the targets by 2030.

The Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) is an annual and inclusive intergovernmental forum and a regional platform for supporting countries, in particular those with special needs, in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Forum provides a regional perspective on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda by identifying regional trends and consolidating and sharing best practices and lessons learned. The Forum takes into consideration the contributions of United Nations system bodies (at the regional level), other regional and sub-regional organizations, and relevant stakeholders.  The APFSD also supports follow-up and review of progress on the 2030 Agenda at the regional level.

-With inputs from Agencies